Less Than a Second
by Lauren9
Summary: L/L! In response to a challenge at a L/L group on Yahoo, this story goes back 16 years, L/L meeting when Lorelai is pregnant. How will this chance meeting change the future?
1. Hardware Stores, Diners, and Chance Meet...

Less Than a Second  
  
Part 1: Hardware Stores, Diners, and Chance Meetings  
  
__________  
  
Pairing: Lorelai and Luke  
  
Summary: Luke and Lorelai met in Stars Hollow while Lorelai's pregnant with Rory. Sixteen years later, they've found happiness with each other and the entire past (as fans know it) has been changed (for the better, perhaps :). This is a response to a challenge posted on the Luke and Lorelai Fan Fic group at Yahoo.  
  
Rating: PG 13 (to be safe, for now)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own or in any way have connection to those that do own the Gilmore Girls.  
  
A/N: This is my fifth Gilmore Girls fan fiction (the fourth of mine to be posted on fanfiction.net and first to be posted at the LL Yahoo Fan Fic group). I hope you enjoy! Please review or send feedback (email: artista317@yahoo.com)! Thanks! :)  
  
__________  
  
It had taken them almost ten years to admit that they had feelings for each other, three and a half years after that to get engaged, and another two years to finally head to the alter. However, it should be said that it took them less than a second to fall in love (or at least him with her. It took her a while to realize her feelings).  
  
All Luke Danes had had to do was see her, standing there in the rain. It was sixteen years earlier and, for some reason, something had made him go outside in the storm. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep without making a decision about the "William's Hardware" sign that hung outside the store he was in the process of transforming into his own diner.  
  
He grabbed his coat off the rack that hung near the stairs and carefully walked through the construction area that the downstairs was right then. He left through the front door, not letting it close completely in case he'd locked it from in the inside. He didn't have his keys with him.  
  
He saw a figure standing just across the street, staring towards the center of town and the gazebo that shone a bright white even though it was pretty late and a darkness clung to everything else. The figure turned slightly and he got his first glimpse of the woman that would change his life.  
  
The dim light from a nearby street lamp cast a shadow over the girl's face, blocking her features from view. She turned and saw him. He looked at the outside of the hardware store his father had owned, assessing whether or not to keep the "William's Hardware" sign. He pretended not to know that she was there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her take a step toward him, then another, another still.  
  
"Uh…excuse me?" She asked quietly when she was within ten feet of him. He looked towards her. "I was…um…wondering, are you from around here?"  
  
"Yeah. This is my diner."  
  
She looked at the sign. "Doesn't that say that it's a hardware store?"  
  
"Yeah. It is. I mean, was. I'm renovating."  
  
"Oh." She answered. She looked inside the window of the building and he glanced towards her. She was young. Younger than he and he was only nineteen. Her long, dark hair caught the light from the street lamps around where they were standing and it shined, brilliantly. She was taller than most teenagers, as he believed her to be, he knew. She was slightly taller than Rachel, maybe an inch or so, he guessed. His eyes drifted along her body for a last once-over look and that's when he saw the bulge in her belly. She almost looked pregnant to him. He credited his thoughts to the lack of light.  
  
"You're not from around here, are you?" He asked, almost suddenly.  
  
"No. Hartford."  
  
"Oh…" He buried his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. "So…uh…are you visiting someone here in Stars Hollow?"  
  
*That's a nice name,* she thought, *for this little town.* She could almost imagine living there, walking to the town square in the mornings where she and her baby would play until lunchtime. Then maybe she would stop in this man's diner for lunch and some coffee.  
  
"No, just passing through," she heard herself say. "Actually, is there any place here to stay? Like a hotel or bed and breakfast or something?"  
  
He thought for a minute. "A friend of my family owns an inn. Maybe you've heard of it, 'Independence Inn'?"  
  
"No, I haven't." She paused. How ironic. An inn named Independence. It's why she was here. Christopher, the father of the child growing inside of her, was moving to California after he graduated high school. He had proposed when he learned of her pregnancy, but she couldn't accept. They wanted different things, different lives. Her parents were even more furious when they heard that, besides the fact that she was sixteen and pregnant, she'd refused a marriage proposal from the man whose baby she carried. Lorelai Gilmore, only daughter of Richard and Emily Gilmore of Hartford, was dropping out of school and having a child out of wedlock. Oh, the embarrassment! After the screaming and fighting, Emily always ended the conversation with a "How could you do this to *us* (meaning herself and Richard)? Do you know what the other daughters of the revolution will say when they hear of this? I can't believe this! We're prominent members of society in Hartford and there are certain things that must be done, values that need to be upheld…" She would go on for hours.  
  
So Lorelai withdrew her savings from the bank, packed her things, and left that life behind. And now here she was, in a town that she'd never heard of, six months pregnant (and counting), alone. But she had what she longed for her entire life—freedom, *independence* from that society crap that her mother had put her through for the last sixteen years. Lorelai vowed never to do that to her child, her *daughter,* as the doctor had told her the past Monday. She was having a baby girl.  
  
"Would you like me to call Mia?" The voice of the man standing before her broke Lorelai's trance.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The woman who owns the inn." He had forgotten that he hadn't yet told her.  
  
"Oh, yes. That would be great. Thanks."  
  
"Do you…uh…want to come in for a minute? You don't want to catch cold." He pushed the door to the diner open completely. "It's kinda in a mess, right now. Do you want anything? Something to drink?"  
  
"If it's not any trouble." He cleared off part of the counter and pulled her up a stool. She sat down, a hand at her back. He looked at her again. She *was* pregnant.  
  
"I can get you a chair if that would be more comfortable."  
  
"No, I'm fine."  
  
"'You sure?"  
  
"Yeah." He glanced towards her stomach for the third time.  
  
"So what was it that you wanted to drink? I have water, milk, juice, coffee, tea…?"  
  
"Coffee would be good."  
  
"All right." He went upstairs for a few minutes. Lorelai looked around the diner…or hardware store. It was a cross, at that moment, it seemed. Either that or a diner with a "tool" theme. She adjusted herself so that her back was leaning gently against the edge of the counter. Just as she was getting comfortable, the man came back.  
  
"Here…" he handed her one of the two cups.  
  
"How far from here is the inn?"  
  
"About two miles down the road." He hadn't thought of how she would get there. "Don't worry about it, I'll give you a ride over." He sat down in the stool next to her so he wasn't talking to her back anymore.  
  
"How long have you lived here?" She asked, turning her head to him as she sipped from her mug.  
  
He shrugged. "All my life."  
  
"Do you ever want to get away?"  
  
"I did. I was supposed to go to college in North Carolina last year, but then my plans changed." He paused. "Is that why you're here? To get away from something?"  
  
She didn't answer right away. "I guess so."  
  
"Did you tell me your name?" He asked. She couldn't remember that she had.  
  
"Lorelai." She said.  
  
"Luke." They didn't need last names right then. She was just passing through, she said. Surprisingly, for some reason, he wished that wasn't true.  
  
_________  
  
A/N: Chapter 1 complete. Review, review, review! That will probably be the most frequent word used in this story (well, author's notes), if you haven't read some of my other stories and found this out already firsthand. The button below is beckoning (say that ten times fast)! And for those faithful readers of the previous, "Those Three Little Words," I am NOT abandoning that story, I just have no idea right now where to go with it. This one has been sitting with me since I read the challenge for it. "Those…Words" should be updated soon as school ends (my finals end Wednesday) and the summer draws me to my notebook(s). Okay, so before I conclude this note: REVIEW (you have to understand that reviews are for me what coffee is for Lorelai)!! Thanks in advance! :) 


	2. The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

Less Than a Second  
Part 2: The Start of a Beautiful Friendship  
__________  
  
Pairing: Lorelai and Luke   
  
Summary: Luke and Lorelai met in Stars Hollow while Lorelai's pregnant with Rory. Sixteen years later, they've found happiness with each other and the entire past (as fans know it) has been changed (for the better, perhaps :). This is a response to a challenge posted on the Luke and Lorelai Fan Fic group at Yahoo.  
  
Rating: PG 13 (to be safe, for now)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own or in any way have connection to those that do own the Gilmore Girls.  
  
A/N: Time won't really be emphasized much in this story (especially after Rory is born), so don't take it too seriously if I screw up with the months or years or whatever in the following chapters. Thanks. :)  
__________  
  
*6 weeks later*  
__________  
  
Lorelai Gilmore had begun her life in Stars Hollow. She was completely independent of her parents now, her daughter's due date was fast approaching, she had a small place to live (it was a shed behind the Independence Inn, but it was large enough for her and her soon-to-be born daughter), and she had a job. She was working at the inn full time, starting as a desk clerk who merely sorted through the papers, looked up dates for booking, et cetera. It was just a starting job; she hoped to soon advance after her baby was born. She had put in for a few weeks off (maternity leave; that sounded strange to her, Lorelai being only 16, having a full-time job, and taking "maternity leave" soon), after which she could return to work and take care of her baby (the shed was useful in its proximity to her "office"). Overall, she was happy.  
__________  
  
Luke's diner was finally open for business. It opened on August 30, 1984 for customers. His first: Lorelai. He smiled when she entered and made sure to start a pot of coffee.  
  
He'd seen her walk by in the weeks prior. He was surprised she decided to stick around, but happy just the same. She sat down at one of the tables and he presented her with a menu.  
  
"Thank you," she said, with a smile on her face as well.  
  
"Coffee?"  
  
"Of course." She paused, forgetting he didn't know her. "I mean, sure. Thanks." He picked up her mug and filled it almost all the way. She glanced at it. "To the top, please?" She asked, smiling. There was something about that smile that made him completely vulnerable and open to her. Normally, that would have scared him. It did, a little, now that he was thinking about it, but he sort of liked that feeling as well. He didn't even know her, but he was comfortable just standing near her, pouring her coffee as if it were a common practice between them.   
  
He stood, waiting for her order. "Uh...we have danish, too. It's...uh...not on the menu, but I made some this morning. There's...um...strawberry, blueberry, apple, cheese..."  
  
"Ooh, danish! Blueberry please?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Thanks." He went to the counter. She watched him as he walked away, really looking at him for the first time. She'd seen him around a little, mostly while he was working on the diner. It had come out well, she surveyed. The man, she thought, had a wonderful overall appearance. He seemed kind of gruff, but friendly. He was a rugged handsome (which was different from the preppy/bad-boy look Christopher had). The flannel shirt was of a different style, but it sort of gave him character as the backwards baseball cap he wore did. Lorelai wouldn't admit it to herself for a long time, but she was initially attracted to him.  
  
He returned with her danish and she took a bite. "You know, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship," she smirked.   
  
He refilled her coffee cup and was about to start some kind of conversation with her but the door opened and brought a slew of customers with the ever-skeptical Kirk and Taylor, who was then a council member (though he was also a mayor-hopeful). Luke waited until they sat before presenting them with menus and asking if they, too, would like coffee.  
  
When Lorelai was finished, she laid down some money and left without Luke even noticing.  
__________  
  
"Hello?" Lorelai answered a phone she'd hooked up in the shed. She had the afternoon off and she was currently alternating between reading a book of baby names and a book about hotel and restaurant management.  
  
"Hello, may I speak to Lorelai Gilmore, please?" A man's voice asked.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Yes. Hello, Lorelai." He paused, awkwardly. Lorelai had agreed to call her parents weekly during her first phone call to her father just a few days after she left. She gave them the name of the inn and her phone number there, but this was the first time in the six weeks she'd been in Stars Hollow that her parents had called her. "I was wondering how you were. Did you go to your appointment on Friday?"  
  
"I'm fine and yes, I made my appointment on Friday. I have another in two weeks." She paused. "Is everything okay?"  
  
"Your mother isn't well."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"She...she doesn't know why you left. Neither of us does, really. She was in bed for a month, Lorelai. I worry about her...I'm worried about you." It was one of the only times that Richard Gilmore would tell her how he really felt about something. They hadn't been close-Lorelai wasn't really close to either of her parents-and the obvious distance between them now (among other things) wasn't helping their relationship. It hurt Lorelai to think of her mother as physically ill because she'd left. *Maybe I should go home,* she thought. It was then she realized that she couldn't. In her mind, she wasn't welcome. There was too much pain there. She was happy in this little town with her own life. But how would she tell her father that without hurting him? She couldn't.  
  
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know how much this would hurt her. I thought that it would be better for her if I left. I wouldn't be there to be an example of the child her societal friends wanted to avoid."  
  
"Lorelai...is there any possibility of you coming home?"  
  
She shook her head slowly to herself. "I don't think so, dad." She heard him sigh softly.  
  
"If you need anything, you know where to find us..." his voice left off. "We love you, Lorelai. We only wanted what is best for you."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
"Bye." She sighed and opened up her book again.  
__________  
  
A/N: Sorry so short. The next chapter should be up within the next week. Review, please. Thanks! I really appreciate it! :) 


	3. Hello, Rory Gilmore

Less Than a Second  
Part 3: Hello, Rory Gilmore  
__________  
  
Pairing: Lorelai and Luke   
  
Summary: Luke and Lorelai met in Stars Hollow while Lorelai's pregnant with Rory. Sixteen years later, they've found happiness with each other and the entire past (as fans know it) has been changed (for the better, perhaps :). This is a response to a challenge posted on the Luke and Lorelai Fan Fic group at Yahoo.  
  
Rating: PG 13 (to be safe, for now)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own or in any way have connection to those that do own the Gilmore Girls.  
  
A/N: There's some Lorelai/Christopher stuff in this chapter (a kiss or two). That's it, though, for now. He won't appear again for a few chapters, at least I don't think he will. Also, it was a little difficult for me to grasp how Lorelai would act during delivery, so if it's out of character or out of touch with the rest of the story, sorry. :) Please review! Thanks!  
__________  
  
*In a hospital in Hartford, 7 weeks later*  
  
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Lorelai cried, loudly. "Pain! Mister...uh...doctor...doctor..." She couldn't remember his name "...you...yes, you...OW! God, this is painful! Can I get some kind of medication here? Maybe some morphine...a little codeine? Anything?"  
  
The doctor looked towards her and was about to say something as Christopher rushed into the room. "Lor? Lor...you haven't had the baby yet, have you?"  
  
"No, you're just in time to see how much physical pain you have brought on me and you get to stand here as I yell and shout and say things like 'why did you do this to me?' 'what the hell were we thinking?' and 'why should I have to push this baby the size of a watermelon out of my body when you were there too!?' "  
  
"Perfect timing then," he smiled. He kissed her forehead and took her hand. Another contraction went through her and she bit her lip until it bled. "Lor...you okay?" He touched her lip with a cloth near him. She pushed it away so she could talk.  
  
"I'd be a whole hell of a lot better if that guy over there, Mr.-I'm-a-doctor-but-of-course-I'm-not-going-to-give-you-any-drugs-to-relieve-you-of-the-discomfort-you-are-feeling-though-that's-my-job!, would give me something! Anything! And you, Chris, need to understand that I am *IN PAIN*! Can I make this anymore clear to you people? I now know why my mother hates me so much!"  
  
Christopher stifled a laugh as the doctor came over to them. "Lorelai, if you'll just roll to your side and curl up as well as you can, I can give you an epidermal which will help with the pain." She did as she was told and rolled back over onto her back when he was finished.  
  
She smiled, now that the medication was helping the pain at least a little. "Now that...*that* is what I'm talking about." She looked over at Chris. "Sorry, I yelled."  
  
He kissed her forehead again. "It was just the pain..."  
  
"Are you staying?"  
  
"Here? Of course...I wouldn't miss our baby's birth."  
  
"I mean, are you staying in Connecticut for a while...longer than just today?"  
  
"My flight home is on Sunday." Christopher's home was now California. The night he and Lorelai had been together was the night before he and his family moved. When his parents had found out that Christopher had fathered the child Lorelai was pregnant with, they decided they would not return the following fall, to Connecticut, as planned. Instead, they would stay in California and begin new social lives where their son's mistake couldn't touch them.  
  
"Oh," she answered. There was another contraction, but she didn't scream out this time. This time, she squeezed his hand tight, her eyes filling with tears. She wasn't sure if she was crying because of the fact that she and her baby would be alone (she had just come to this realization, fully), because of the pain, or both. She turned away from him and allowed the tears to fall, slowly, until one of the doctors walked over to her.  
  
"Lorelai?" She looked up. "Your contractions are close and you're fully dilated. Are you ready to start pushing?" She nodded and took a deep breath as another contraction shook her body. "All right...push!"  
__________  
  
Eighteen minutes later, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore was born at 4:03AM on Monday, October 8, 1984. There was silence for a moment, everyone waiting for a cry. When the small baby the nurse was holding finally cried, Lorelai began to cry, too.  
  
Christopher kissed her mouth softly as the nurse handed Lorelai their baby. "She's beautiful," he said, touching her cheek.  
  
"She has your nose." She smiled, looking at him.  
  
"And your eyes."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Did you choose a name for her?"  
  
"I-I..." she couldn't remember any of the names she'd chosen at that moment. "I don't remember."  
  
"What does she look like to you?"  
  
She looked down at her baby. "I'm not sure. What do you think?"  
  
"This is going to sound weird, but she looks like a 'Lorelai' to me." He said after a moment.  
  
"You want me to name her after me? That could get confusing..." She paused. "But, she does, doesn't she? Lorelai. Lorelai. Lori...Rory..."  
  
"What was that last one?" Christopher asked, suddenly looking up at Lorelai.  
  
"Rory?"  
  
"Yeah. That's pretty. I like it."  
  
"Me too." She smiled. "Rory Gilmore. Lorelai Gilmore... Lorelai *something* Gilmore. She needs a middle name."  
  
"Do you want it to be the same as yours?"  
  
"Not really..."  
  
"Okay, so not Victoria. Lorelai Christine Gilmore." Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Christina?" He asked, trying to get his own name in there in the female form. She shook her head and he laughed. "Um...A...B..." He went through the alphabet in his head, trying to think of at least one name for each letter. "I got it! Lee."  
  
"Lorelai Lee Gilmore." She looked up. "Can you pass me that pen and paper," she asked, pointing to where they were on a side table. "Thanks. Lore-ah-lie Lee Gil-more," she said, pronouncing the name as she wrote it down. "I don't know...it doesn't look right. It sounds good, but it needs to look good too."  
  
"What about the L-E-I-G-H spelling of it?" She wrote it out then looked to the baby she was holding. "Lorelai Leigh Gilmore." She paused then said it again, slower, letting the words roll off her tongue. "Lorelai...Leigh...Gilmore."  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"It's her." She smiled. The baby opened its eyes, slowly. "Hello, Rory Gilmore."  
__________  
  
"Do you really have to go?" Lorelai asked. It was Friday night, four days after Rory's birth. Lorelai had gone home to Stars Hollow. Mia was helping her with Rory. Everyone had been very kind since Lorelai's return to the small town. Many people offered to baby-sit and some donated things like diapers, bottles, or baby clothes that had once been worn by their children.   
  
Christopher had called Lorelai's parents and told them of Rory's arrival. Richard was talking to him. In the background, he could hear Emily crying. Lorelai had flatly refused to allow them to come to the hospital. Her mother had practically disowned Lorelai as her daughter when she'd told them of her pregnancy and Lorelai felt that anyone who'd say that had no right to see her daughter (for right now, anyway). End of story.  
  
Christopher had returned to Stars Hollow with Lorelai for the week. His plane left at five Saturday morning, so he was spending his last night in a hotel in Hartford.  
  
"Yes, I really have to go." Christopher answered, quietly. Lorelai was holding the baby. He didn't want to go. If he could have, he'd have stayed forever, right there in that little tool shed behind an inn, with Lorelai and his daughter. But he couldn't. He knew he couldn't. He was seventeen. He was within eight months of graduating high school. He was going to go to college, he hoped. He was going to get a job. Then, he told himself, he'd come back to his "family." He knew that that wasn't necessarily true though. He'd also frowned at responsibility and a part of him (a very small part of him, but still a part) was happy to have gone to California. He could start over there if he wanted. Lorelai knew this and it was why she never asked him to do what she had done: drop out of high school, get a job, and support their child. She wanted him to have a chance in life to make something of himself. She knew that this idea of responsibility wasn't for him. For these reasons, she had refused his proposal of marriage, which had upset her parents even more than they had been when she'd told them she was pregnant with his child. Lorelai knew, had she said yes, they would have divorced or separated within their first five years together. She couldn't put him, their child, or herself through that. It was better this way, she told herself. But all of this didn't stop her from *wishing* he was different and *could* stay and *could* be reliable and that they *could* get married and grow old together and be a family and make it work.  
  
"You'll call?"  
  
"At least, once a week." He confirmed, stepping closer to her.  
  
"And you'll try to come for some holiday or during the summer or something?"  
  
"I'll be on the first plane out." He took another step towards her.  
  
"I love you, Chris." She said, after a moment.  
  
"I love you, too, Lor. I'll always love you." He kissed her lips softly. She reached up in touched his cheek with the fingertips of her free hand. When they drew away from each other, he looked down at his daughter. "She looks so much like you." He paused. "She's beautiful...you're beautiful." She swallowed hard and looked towards their sleeping child. Rory was cuddled close to her mother in a soft blue blanket that Mia had given her. One hand was curled near her face; the other lost under the blanket. A funny little noise came from her mouth as she yawned. Lorelai couldn't help but smile at her. Christopher leaned down and kissed her forehead before touching Rory's hand. Rory's fingers closed over his index finger and Christopher smiled. A taxi, outside, honked its horn in one loud burst.  
  
He looked up at Lorelai one more time. "I have to go." He kissed her again. "I'll see you soon. Christmas, maybe?"  
  
"'Sounds great." She smiled.  
  
He walked to the door, her following closely behind him. He opened it before turning back, "bye."  
  
"Bye." Rory began to cry. Lorelai walked around the room, rocking her gently until she fell back asleep. "And then there were two..."  
__________  
  
*Another six weeks later*  
__________  
  
"Rock a bye, baby  
On the treetop,  
When the wind blows,  
The cradle...will...rock..." Lorelai sang, trying to get Rory to fall back asleep. She closed her eyes. Lorelai hummed the rest of the song. She walked around a little then placed her into her crib in the corner of the room, by Lorelai's bed. She hadn't walked three feet before Rory started crying again. Lorelai got the baby bag and the baby sling. She put Rory in a warm outfit. It had gotten significantly cold in the past week. It had snowed two days before and even tonight it was cold. Lorelai loved the snow. The night Rory was born, it snowed (a record low for that time of year). She then got herself ready, put on her hat, coat, and scarf and then adjusted the sling before putting Rory into it. She covered her with the blue blanket from Mia and put two more in the baby bag, just in case, before leaving.  
__________  
  
The streets were quiet. Barely anyone was out even though it was only seven. She guessed it was the cold that kept everyone inside. Every few minutes or so, she checked Rory and placed another blanket on her, if needed, or adjusted her slightly in the sling. Rory was wide-awake, but quiet. She could now smile and did so at Lorelai on occasion. During their walk, she did a few times. It was a cute little smile that made Rory's eyes light up and sparkle, which always prompted a smile from Lorelai. She wished that Christopher was there to see some of it.  
  
The bell above the door to the diner jingled as Lorelai went inside. Luke was at a table in the corner, serving food. He looked up when Lorelai came in and smiled with a little nod to her. She went to the counter and sat down on one of the stools, placing the baby bag next to her.  
  
"Hey." He said, walking over to her.  
  
"Slow night?" She asked, looking around at the almost-empty diner. The people he'd been serving when she walked in were the only other people there.  
  
"The cold is keeping everyone inside," he shrugged. "Is that...?" He asked, looking down at the bundle she was holding.  
  
"Rory. Yes." She hadn't been to the diner since Christopher left. Instead, she'd ordered in food for herself or she'd eaten at the inn when they served a meal. Tonight, she'd been craving coffee. Coffee from Luke's diner. It was the best in town, she'd decided.  
  
"She looks like you."  
  
"If you'd seen her father, you wouldn't really think so. She looks more like him. She has my eyes, but his nose and general face shape..." Lorelai looked at Rory and moved the blanket away from her face. She was blinking slowly and yawning a little. Lorelai hoped that she would finally fall asleep. She looked back up to Luke who was also looking at Rory. When he raised his eyes to meet hers, his somewhat gruff appearance seemed to melt. He was smiling (he did usually smile at Lorelai, but normally he was reserved and quiet which kind of put her off) and there was something bright about his face. She saw something there for a moment before the glow faded and he was just Luke again.  
  
"Coffee?" He asked, picking up a mug from behind him. The only other customers in the diner were standing to leave.  
  
"Uh...yes. Please." He poured some coffee from the pot into her mug and he handed it to her.  
  
"Here ya' go."  
  
"Thanks." She laced her free hand through the handle and mug and took a sip. She looked at it. "You remembered," she smiled.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"To fill it all the way."  
  
"I guess so." He shrugged.  
  
"Thank you." She said again.  
  
"Yeah...well..." Luke smiled then walked over to the empty table on the other side of the diner.  
__________  
  
A/N: Question(s) for those of you who are reading this: should I keep jumping a month or a month and a half or so and tell you, or does it not matter? What age would you like Rory to be in the next chapter (I mean, what kind of time should I skip-a few weeks, months, years, etc)? Your opinion decides the future of the story, so please read and review. The next chapter should be up in the next week or so.  
  
Also, if you read chapter two, where it said that Taylor was a "governor-hopeful" or whatever I wrote, it's been corrected (Thanks to a reviewer! Thank you, again! :) to "mayor" (as of July 15).  
  
Last but not least, being a Gilmore Girls fan living in Massachusetts, I was able to catch Lauren Graham (Lorelai) in "Once in a Lifetime," a play she has been performing for the last month. I strongly recommend, if she returns next year, that, those of you who can, go see it. I also got the chance to meet her and have her autograph my program. It was very exciting. The run of the play ended yesterday (July 14) at the Williamstown (Massachusetts) Theatre Festival. Again, the play was wonderful and I recommend those of you, who can go, to go next year (especially if she does another play)! :)  
  
Please review! Thanks! I appreaciate it! 


	4. Christmas Parties, Letters, and a New Ye...

Less Than a Second  
Part 3: Christmas Parties, Letters, and a New Year  
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Pairing: Lorelai and Luke   
  
Summary: Luke and Lorelai met in Stars Hollow while Lorelai's pregnant with Rory. Sixteen years later, they've found happiness with each other and the entire past (as fans know it) has been changed (for the better, perhaps :). This is a response to a challenge posted on the Luke and Lorelai Fan Fic group at Yahoo.  
  
Rating: PG 13 (to be safe, for now)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own or in any way have connection to those that do own the Gilmore Girls.  
  
A/N: Did Christopher even go to college or has that not been stated in the show? I can't remember...if facts (things that have been said on the show) are a little messed up in this chapter, please forgive me. Also, towards the end of this chapter, time picks up randomly and we head towards Spring, 1985. Please *review*! :)  
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*3 months later*  
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Christopher visited over Christmas break. Lorelai was working some of it, but it gave both her and Rory a chance to see him. Lorelai had been writing to him, telling him of little things that had been going on and pictures of Rory. He called every so often, usually about once or twice every few weeks. During the phone calls, he'd tell Lorelai that he missed them. He'd tell her about the happenings in California or he'd ask about Rory and her. He'd always end the call with an "I love you and I miss you" which normally left Lorelai with a lump in her throat.  
  
Christmas, however, had been wonderful. He had come with his parents, who, not surprisingly, refused to see Lorelai. They spent the week in Hartford with friends and Christopher stayed in Stars Hollow.  
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Emily and Richard requested a visit from Lorelai on Christmas Eve, for the annual Christmas party held at the Gilmore house. Lorelai hadn't refused to go, but she hadn't accepted their invitation either. She'd thought it over and she'd decided that she wanted Rory to, at least, know her grandparents. She'd called the night before the party and told one of the maids to tell Emily that she would come to the Christmas Party.  
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It was good luck for Lorelai that someone was there when she'd returned to Stars Hollow from the party.  
  
"Minutes," she'd told Christopher, "I walked in the door, took off my coat. She saw me from across the room. She got my father and then they both approached me. They smiled, looked at Rory, were happy... Then, out of nowhere, my mother asks if she can speak to me outside. I said that it was cold out and that we could talk inside..."  
  
"Witnesses," he'd said, smiling. They were sitting on the couch, Lorelai wrapped in his arms, a blanket draped over them. He'd arrived while Lorelai was at the party.  
  
"Exactly! But, she insisted. And then there was the yelling and Rory started to cry. At that, the almighty Emily Gilmore cowered and we were able to get out alive." She finished, getting up. "Now, I need some coffee."  
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Christmas Day, itself, was much more enjoyable for Lorelai. She and Christopher bundled up Rory and the three headed to Luke's for some coffee. They spent a little time there (Lorelai told Christopher that she knew what it was like to be alone and she didn't want Luke to be because he was a nice guy and deserved to have *someone* with him on the holiday). After a while, a woman walked in that Luke knew (Rachel something-or-other, Lorelai remembered, later) and the three headed back to the inn.  
  
  
  
Christopher had brought presents and things for Rory. He gave Lorelai a camcorder, among other things, so he wouldn't miss out on too much. When he saw that Rory could roll from her side to her back and was slowly learning to roll onto her stomach and raise her head, not to mention the fact that she could not only smile but *grin,* he knew that he didn't want to miss out on any more firsts or achievements his daughter made.  
  
At the end of the week, he went back to California and Lorelai and Rory were alone once more.  
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"I miss you," she wrote in one of the letters to him a few weeks after he'd left again. "It's hard without you... I wish you could see her now. She's so beautiful. She can lift her head now when she lies on her stomach. She changes everyday. If you were only here...  
  
"Did you have a good New Year's? How's school? Have you received an answer from California Institute of Technology? What about Connecticut? Are you applying to schools on the East Coast? I forgot to ask you while you were here...  
  
"So February vacation, you said? I think Rory misses you. She's been looking around and making a little angry face...  
  
"I love you, Chris. Talk to you soon. Lorelai." Lorelai folded the letter and stuck it in an envelope. She placed a stamp on the right corner, wrote Christopher's address on the front, and then wrote the return address. She stood and walked to the other side of the room where Rory was sleeping, soundly. Lorelai watched her chest raise and fall, rhythmically every few seconds with her breathing. She took one of the light blankets at the bottom of the crib and spread it over Rory's little body.  
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"Lor," a letter from Christopher began, "I applied to a few different schools. Mostly, polytech schools here. I have a few technical schools on my list that are on the East Coast: Worcester Polytech in Massachusetts, Rensselaer Polytech in New York, and Rutgers in New Jersey. I should find out in late March or early April where I've been accepted. I got a letter from MIT in Massachusetts. I was rejected. I'm still waiting for the letter from CIT.  
  
"How's Rory? Thanks for the pictures. I can't believe how different she looks...it's only been about a month since Christmas and she's changed so much. Tell her that I miss her.  
  
"I love you. I miss you. I'll call you later this week.  
  
"Love, Chris"  
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That was the last letter Lorelai would ever get from Christopher. After that, they kept touch by phone and occasionally, when Lorelai got a computer years later, by e-mail.  
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Lorelai loved the way the winter, in Connecticut, slowly melted into spring. As much as she loved the winter and snow, she also loved the flowers that spring brought, the sunlight, the warmth. She enjoyed walking through Stars Hollow, Rory in a baby carrier on her back, on those spring mornings. Usually, she despised walking (and exercise in any form), but there was something about the town that drew her from bed around eight or so in the morning to take Rory on a walk then go to work at the inn.  
  
The inn, itself, was beautiful this time of year. There were numerous weddings scheduled throughout the spring and summer months which would keep the staff busier than they already were. Mia asked Lorelai to help her organize some of the details for a few of the weddings. Mia liked the ambitious nature Lorelai held. She taught her what she knew. She realized that soon enough, Lorelai would be ready for a management position.  
  
Lorelai had made some friends at the inn. Sookie St. James, one of the chefs, was probably her closest friend. Like Lorelai, she was ambitious. She wanted to be head chef. She was accident-prone, yes, but reliable and delightful to be around, just the same. And then there was Michel who, despite his normally rude disposition, would amuse her. They both shared a witty sense of humor.  
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Luke, nowadays, was busy with the diner. It was successful with the locals and people from outside of town occasionally dropped by to get some coffee as they passed through. Lorelai had become a faithful customer. She showed up every morning for coffee (he eventually always gave her a cup even though he thought she shouldn't drink so much of it), again during the day for another cup, then at some point in the evening with Rory for dinner.  
  
Something else had happened. His girlfriend, Rachel, had returned to Stars Hollow. She had been off at school studying photography in Rhode Island but she took a semester off to do some fieldwork and had come back to town to visit. She'd shown up on Christmas on her way to see her parents in upstate New York. Luke had been thrilled to see her.   
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It was early April when Lorelai got her first promotion. She now assisted at the front desk. The extra money (along with some that Christopher had given to her during his most recent visit in February and some that Richard had sent for her birthday as well as with some loans from a bank in Hartford) was enough to put a down payment on a run-down house on the northwest side of town. Luke offered to help her do some work on it (fix the stairs, patch the roof, take the boards off the windows and replace the glass, et cetera) and Lorelai told him she would pay him some money even though he flat-out refused to take any.  
  
Lorelai loved the house, despite its condition. "The shower has a curtain and the bathroom has four walls," she told Christopher during one of their weekly phone calls. She went on and on, excitedly, "There's a porch and a kitchen...and this room that's perfect for Rory. And there's..."  
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A/N: Okay, I had a bit more trouble with that chapter. I'm not sure if it's plausible that Lorelai could afford a house yet (I tried). If not, please ignore my mistake. :) Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who responded to the question posed at the end of the last chapter (time variables). Thanks, I'm definitely going to use your suggestions for the rest of the story. Um, I think that's it. Don't forget to review! I appreciate it! :) 


	5. What May Have Been

Less Than a Second  
Part 5: What May Have Been  
__________  
  
Pairing: Lorelai and Luke   
  
Summary: Luke and Lorelai met in Stars Hollow while Lorelai's pregnant with Rory. Sixteen years later, they've found happiness with each other and the entire past (as fans know it) has been changed (for the better, perhaps :). This is a response to a challenge posted on the Luke and Lorelai Fan Fic group at Yahoo.  
  
Rating: PG 13 (to be safe, for now)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own or in any way have connection to those that do own the Gilmore Girls.  
  
A/N: In this chapter, we leave Lorelai and Rory and go to Emily and Richard. I really wanted to get them into the whole mix of the story. Please review, thanks!  
__________  
  
Emily Gilmore couldn't just sit there anymore thinking about Lorelai. She had mulled over the situation for too long. Lorelai was gone. She was in a new town with a new daughter. She had a job. She had a house. She had a family. And Emily was here. Alone in the large house while Richard was at work. She'd done the mourning bit, almost as if Lorelai had died, and she'd let herself just *be* since Lorelai left, her days without purpose. Now, she realized, she had to stand up, go outside, garden, clean, *anything*...she just needed to be doing something.  
  
So, she cleaned. There were maids who sat in wonder, thinking that they should ask her to stop or take over for her. She dusted dust that wasn't there, she made beds that were already made, and she washed dishes that had already been washed. The maids had already done all of the cleaning, but she convinced herself that there was more to do just so she didn't feel so useless anymore.  
  
Somehow, Emily ended up in Lorelai's bedroom. She found herself gazing at the cream-colored walls, the white trim. She hadn't been in her daughter's room since morning of the day Lorelai left and she'd strictly forbidden anyone else to enter it, as she thought it might contain something that would... She didn't know what the thing would do, but if there was such an object, she didn't want it to be carelessly thrown away or lost.  
  
Emily sat down on the bed. Lorelai had made it, neatly, before she left. She touched the fabric of the comforter spread over the mattress. She could remember pulling it up around Lorelai's shoulders when Lorelai was just a child. *She is 'still' just a child,* Emily thought suddenly. There was a teddy bear on the bed and she lifted it in her hands. Tears began to fill her eyes and slowly make their way down her cheeks.  
  
She closed her eyes and let herself think of what could have been for Lorelai.   
  
Lorelai was to have been presented at a debutante ball and Christopher would have been her escort. She could imagine the dress, long and white with a delicate floral trim around the neckline and on the hem. No sleeves because the gauze would have bothered Lorelai's arms. Long, white gloves, a tiara in front of the twisted black hair piled on top of her head. *She would have hated it,* she thought, almost laughing out loud through her tears...  
  
Lorelai's high school graduation. The white gown with matching cap. Lorelai taking her diploma in one hand, shaking the principal's hand with her other. Then, as she made her way across the stage or platform, Lorelai would move the tassel from one side of the cap to the other. She would smile, broadly, clapping, Richard sitting next to her doing the same. And then Emily would cry thinking about how Lorelai would be leaving for college in the fall. Which college? Richard had always dreamed that his daughter would go to Yale and follow in his footsteps. Emily didn't have a preference, as long as she would get a good education and be happy there...  
  
Then, years later, Christopher and Lorelai would marry (they were always meant to be, in Emily's mind). They'd be successful and content. They'd start a family and live just outside of the city. They would, with their children, come to family dinners and parties...  
  
It was then that Emily heard someone at the door and looked up to see Richard peering in at her. She wiped away her tears. "I tried," Emily said, softly, shrugging her shoulders subtly, "I tried to be the best mother I could be." She looked down at the bear and then around the room, gazing at the things that had meant something to her daughter. "And somehow I let her down." Richard walked over to her and sat down on the bed beside her. He folded her in his arms and kissed the side of her forehead.  
  
"Things happen," he said, quietly. He paused. "You were-you *are*-a wonderful mother. You love Lorelai, you taught her to be a good person, and you made sure that she was always safe."  
  
"It wasn't enough." She answered, shaking her head, slowly.  
  
"What more could someone ask for?" He paused again. "We need to stop lingering on what was and what may have been and think about what is going to happen *now.* We just have to go on loving Lorelai and loving that little girl of hers."  
  
"I miss her." Emily said. "Do you think she knows?"  
  
He nodded, "she knows." He kissed her cheek then stood and took her hand in his. She stood with him and put the teddy bear down on Lorelai's bed, where she'd found it. "Come on, dinner's ready."  
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A/N: An unusually short chapter. I may do chapters that focus on them every so often and they probably will tend to be shorter than others. It was refreshing writing for someone else. I enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much! :) Lorelai (and possibly Luke...I'm not positive where I'm going next so I don't know when he'll show up) will return in the subsequent chapter. Please review! Thanks, I appreciate it! :) 


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